car wash blog

We recently had some photos taken of the Fashion Square Car Wash by photographer Sergio Garza - www.SergioGarza.net.

Sergio shot these for his portfolio, so we didn't interfere and advise him of what we wanted. He had free range to express his artistic point of view. We are pleased with the results. They capture the essence of the place, a busy car wash that is only closed (except for rainy days) one day a year. We also like that he took some pictures of just the landscaping.

A few night photos of the remodeled Fashion Square Car Wash taken by the contractor's superintendent, Fredy Monge of Pacific Empire Builders.

View from the street with the new drought tolerant landscaping in the foreground.

The remodeled car wash ordering area. The only time of day this area is without cars.

The waiting area and new canopy with aluminum louvers.

The oil change / smog check building. Work on this building was minimal- new stucco and paint. New planter/benches in the foreground.

The main car wash building with a peek into the retail store interior.

Modative is the architect for the Fashion Square Car Wash remodel in Sherman Oaks, CA (Los Angeles). We are actively seeking other car washes that are looking to improve their sales though a modern makeover. Please contact Modative if you are interested in learning more about how a remodeled car wash can drastically improve your business and your customers' satisfaction.

While we continue to go back in
time and add posts of the entire Fashion Square Car Wash architecture
and construction process, I thought we'd show a few recent pictures to
hold you over until we send in the professional photographers.

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The new waiting area

And, just to remind you, the old waiting area and main building

A close up of the new canopy

Canopy detail

We also designed all the new signs

The old sign

New drought tolerant landscaping along the street

The sign and landscaping at the corner

The simple and "clean" graphics

The welcome car wash ordering area

Before picture of the welcome area

The vacuum area beyond is about to be rebuilt with a new structure and graphics (Sept. 2009)

Path to the lobby

The card area

We brought a similar graphics theme to the store interiors

Stay tuned as posts will be added in the coming months to show you more of the architecture and construction process.

Some renderings of the (screen) concept to match the previosly developed study model. We've found that moving back and forth between physical and digital modeling works well for us. Digital modeling is fast while the physical modeling allows us to see the entirety of the design at once and forces us to determine a level of buildability in the architecture.

The ever critical car wash store is much more than just a place to pay for your car wash. If the architecture and interiors are done correctly, it can turn the chore of getting a car wash into a pleasant shopping experience.

This first round of design for the car wash store interiors was intended to reflect the concepts used on the exterior (see previous post): the screen, simple signs, and improved flow.

The cabinetry is composed of stacked pieces of wood of various widths that provide different shelving depths, dramatic shadow lines, and visually relate to the screens used on the exterior. Storage areas just below the display areas are intended to ease the merchandise stocking.

Simple, one word signs such as "write" (cards) and "give" (gifts) were intended to provide a customer with the essence of what was available in that portion of the store.

A birds-eye view of the store layout.

The floor plan of the store before the proposed remodel.

Several layouts were explored and flow diagrams created to see how to
improve the customers experience of moving through the store.

These initial interior layouts included a take-out style cafe.

Although the client was very happy with these concepts for the store, the final constructed design of the store is fairly different, matching the reduced scope of the overall car wash project.

Car washes have an interesting mix of things that should be seen, the
automated washing tunnel, and things that should be hidden, noisy and
ugly equipment. It is from this observation that the concept of a
screen evolved. The density of the screen morphs from nearly opaque to
transparent, hiding the unsightly and emphasizing the visually
appealing aspects of the car wash process. The screen also doubles as a
shading device for both the patrons and employees, protecting them
against the often intense heat of the San Fernando Valley.

We began design work with the client asking us to really
go for it - to look at a complete transformation of the car wash. This initial concept was almost entirely designed in physical model form.

Here are some pictures of the study model:

The street side of the car wash with a bold new roof canopy and sign.

The waiting area. Note the Fashion Square graphic.

The waiting area with screens for sun protection

The wash ordering area

We liked the idea of simplified signs throughout the site. Here at the ordering area we went with one word - "clean".

Under the ordering canopy

Car wash ordering menus

The screen wall is used to hide some of the equipment. but becomes more transparent down the tunnel allowing people to watch their cars in the wash tunnel.

We do much of our architectural design work three dimensionally. One of the best ways to achieve this is through physical study models. Because this project was a remodel, we first built a model of the car wash as it exists. A large base model that we could then manipulate with design options.

Here are a few photos of the 1/4"= 1'-0" scale model we built of the existing car wash, before any modifications. The model quickly made us aware of the simple beauty of the exposed steel structure that repeats throughout the building.

Aside from the necessary aesthetic makeover, Modative's initial concept was to rethink the car wash process by making
it less of a "chore" and into more of a positive "experience", like
going to Starbucks, or the spa.

We also envisioned the car wash
having far less of the visual clutter typical of car washes by reducing
the number of signs and replacing them with smart design moves that
create an atmosphere of high end service.

Concept Sketches

We created concept sketches using trace paper over existing photos of the various car wash areas. Some of these sketch ideas were then further visualized with quick renderings. Here's a glimpse into the process:

Before picture of the front of the main building (waiting area).

We took the photo into Photoshop and stripped it down to the bare structure as a starting point for sketching some ideas.

This concept sketch was about creating a higher canopy over the waiting area to create more presence at the street.

Before picture of the car wash ordering area -sign clutter.

Concept sketch of a cleaner wash ordering area with minimal signs and clear lane distinction.

Concept rendering of the car wash ordering area - a more refined look.

Before photo of the car wash detailing area.

Our concept was to make this detail area more substantial and call it the car spa.

We thought that the detail area or "car spa" could have its own waiting area for the VIP customers.

A rendering of the car spa, complete with a green (vegetated roof) to help control runoff.

Precedents

Aside from the concept sketches, we presented the client a series of project precedents photos to help visualize some of the ideas.